North West Christmas convo: Wayne Brophy of Cast UK

Christmas is almost upon us and it’s been a well and truly exciting year for the North West business community.

With many of the region’s businesspeople no doubt looking forward to grabbing a glass of wine and putting their feet up, allowing themselves to slip into a post-roast dinner snooze while pretending to listen to the kids, at Bdaily we thought we’d bring you closer to the personalities behind some of the North West’s most exciting enterprises.

Today’s festive catchup is with Wayne Brophy, founder and MD of specialist recruitment firm Cast UK.

What did your business achieve in 2015?

Apart from increasing our profits by 40% from 2014, we have implemented a new CRM, moved our finance system to the cloud, introduced a new payroll and invoicing system for our contractors, increased our headcount, introduced a new web-based HR system, installed a new phone system, streamlined our processes and updated all our contracts and policies. Oh yes, we also celebrated our 10th anniversary as a business.

What were some of the bigger challenges you faced this year?

Finding the time and having the energy to implement all the changes, plus keeping the troops happy amid all the changes!

Does your business have anything exciting planned for 2016?

Oh yes. We are looking to launch our new NED service to the SME market. Internally, we will be focusing on staff engagement and looking to have more fun whilst continuing to grow our business.

Do you find any other North West businesses or their owners inspiring? If so, who?

I find anyone who is brave enough to run their own business inspiring. Every entrepreneur has a story and I love to hear them all. I am currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Lancaster University and this privileged post allows me to interact and network with the NW’s leading entrepreneurs.

Give us one tip for a budding entrepreneur

Back yourself and your judgement. Your gut feeling is seldom wrong.

Where’s your favourite village/town/city in the North West, besides where you live?

Lancaster. Over the past year I have spent a lot of time at Lancaster as part of my duties with the university. I love the rural feel of the city; it is a great mix of urban and rural in one place. Also, driving to Lancaster from Manchester always allows me to think about my business and how I can improve it.

What would be your dream job?

Being a retired premier league footballer is an old favourite of mine. However, I am pretty happy doing what I am doing at the moment.

Do you have a favourite Christmas song?

Fairytale of New York by the Pogues, hands down no debate!

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